we suck

[pope]

... we're still arguing about whether it is ok to hangdog, place bolts on rappel, yada yada. meanwhile, euros are out pulling down.

 

we all need to just go sport climbing more.

 

We're still worried about whether some dork on that side of the pond can hangdog a 5.13 sooner than we. Meanwhile, we're still wrecking our cliffs with grid bolting and other dubious practices, all in the name of catching up with the Euros.

 

We all just need to go climbing more.

[damage]

i've come to climbing quite late in the game, and i was beginning to think that just isn't done. 5.14? here i come.

 

nothing feels better than looking forward to something new. thank the web, there's a role model for all ages

[Crack]

Not everyone aspires to the same goals...while it can be fun to marvel at the (climbing) accomplishments of others, rubbing them into someone else's face seems like an awful way to celebrate those achievements...

 

And for those of you that continue to whine about greener pastures -what are you waiting for?!

[Spore]

Grid Bolting in America is a myth. Very very few climbers look up to the Eru's in the real world.

[el jefe]

funny: when I was running competitively (forty years ago), I was routinely running miles under 5 minutes, and just barely lettered at my high-school. been climbing since that same time, and hardest I've ever pulled was 12a. gotta say I'm not really interested in 5.13 sport climbing. I'm much happier with the capacity to climb 5.10-11 trad in alpine boots and a pack. Too many guys my age have trouble walking even a mile.

 

correct: my kidneys stopped working - Doctors at two different clinics told me that I had been metabolizing my own muscle tissue for fuel. They and two other MDs who are regular climbing partners suggested this might be less likely to occur if I carried a bit more bodyfat. that was when I cut "squat centuries" from my training regimen. I have yet to meet anyone else, anywhere, any age, who could step into the power cage in a weight room, put a load equal to their bodyweight on their shoulders, and perform a single set of 100 strict form squats, nonstop. At the time of my kidney-failure episode, I weighed about 190 lbs, and was doing my "squat century" with a 235 lb load at age 51. It had taken me six years of targeted training to achieve a "squat century" carrying a load equal to my bodyweight.

 

re: the "easy test" mentioned above - I routinely used a nearly identical tactic to train for climbing at altitude. In the days before rock gyms existed in the US, I would attempt to repeat routes that had felt near my limit in rock shoes and no pack, while wearing mountaineering boots and carrying a pack. I climbed up to 5.11 in Galibier Superguides, and reached a point where I pretty much couldn't climb anything in rock shoes and no pack that I couldn't also climb in mountaineering boots with up to about a 30 lb pack. I'd heartily agree this is an excellent training practice for alpinists & expedition climbers. In January of 1990, my partners and I strayed off route on the French South Face Route on Aconcagua, and I comfortably led a corner pitch of 5.9 stemming @ 17000' wearing first-generation Kastinger double plastic boots and a pack weighing between thirty and forty lbs. My companions, both 5.11 trad climbers - one fell several times following, while the other followed the pitch on tension. Both routinely trained at a 5-minute-mile pace on runs of up to ten miles. I didn't run with them, because the best pace I have ever been able to carry on a run that long is about 7-minute-mile.

 

And I agree, fasting on occasion is a great health maintenance tool. And on occasion, I will fast for up to a week. But I confirmed many years ago that I personally am physically incapable of fasting and training hard at the same time for a multi-day period.

 

this sounds like exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis. drink lots of water after exercise helps. dehydration was likely a contributing element.

[el jefe]

i'm puzzled by montypiton's take on all of this. i understood rumr's point at the outset being that age is no excuse for poor performance when lack of effort was the real cause. from what i've read here, monty is another example (along with manolo and haston) of an old fart who is out killing it because he still wants to, with the difference being that monty performs in the alpine while the other two perform at the crags. different goals yield different results. i don't think the point was that we should all be out pulling 9a but rather that we should be honest with ourselves about what we really want to do and not make excuses like "i'm too old" or "too busy" or "i have kids now" when the real reason is "i like beer and pork rinds" or "exercise makes me sweaty and sore" or "i can't miss this episode of 'survivor'", etc.

[Pete_H]

Grid Bolting in America is a myth.

 

Really? There's quite a few crags es in your own backyard you should take a look at. And pretty much any route put up by Leland Windham.

[kevbone]

And pretty much any route put up by Leland Windham.

 

 

Oh really? Have you climbed IB? there are multiple pitches with NO bolts at all. How is that grib bolting Dirty Harry?

[Sol]

i'd agree that most of his routes blow. and that monstrosity on the south side of SEWS is a travesty.

[Pete_H]

The 5.13 with mandatory 5.6.

[Pete_H]

And pretty much any route put up by Leland Windham.

 

 

Oh really? Have you climbed IB? there are multiple pitches with NO bolts at all. How is that grib bolting Dirty Harry?

 

I'm not suprised you like it. You do take me as the kind of dude who needs a bolt at his knees when making the next clip.

[kevbone]

And pretty much any route put up by Leland Windham.

 

 

Oh really? Have you climbed IB? there are multiple pitches with NO bolts at all. How is that grib bolting Dirty Harry?

 

I'm not suprised you like it. You do take me as the kind of dude who needs a bolt at his knees when making the next clip.

 

 

Who said I liked it?

[Pete_H]

You like licking sack.

[Spore]

Gee, another bolt thread. Anyway, Climb for yourself make it what you want it to be, where you want and in the manner you wish. Dont let someone elses drive or ability over shadow your own reasons for being out there on a peice of stone.

[stevetimetravlr]

chalk sack do you mean? I myself like a bolt at my knees, and a hot babe there also, but that doesn't mean thats what happens all the time. I'll run it out with the best of them, but have to admit being way out on marginal gear on difficult terrain is not really that fun now, is it?

[Pete_H]

If you want fun go surfing. I think if you are in good shape and climbing strong and confident, it can be fun if the climbing isn't too far over your head.

[JosephH]

...but have to admit being way out on marginal gear on difficult terrain is not really that fun now, is it?

It's like martinis - an acquired taste with a slightly bitter uptake.

[Kimmo]

 

We're still worried about whether some dork on that side of the pond can hangdog a 5.13 sooner than we. Meanwhile, we're still wrecking our cliffs with grid bolting and other dubious practices, all in the name of catching up with the Euros.

 

We all just need to go climbing more.

 

i'm not worrying!

 

But, you're a coach, right? football? would you like climbing offered as a competitive sport in high school? don't you think that would be fun to coach? or is that aspect of the sport anathema to you? i know you like the athleticism and the competition, having worked on boulder probs with you at the uw rock. oh btw, where's that keg of koenigshoeven?

[RuMR]

i'm puzzled by montypiton's take on all of this. i understood rumr's point at the outset being that age is no excuse for poor performance when lack of effort was the real cause. from what i've read here, monty is another example (along with manolo and haston) of an old fart who is out killing it because he still wants to, with the difference being that monty performs in the alpine while the other two perform at the crags. different goals yield different results. i don't think the point was that we should all be out pulling 9a but rather that we should be honest with ourselves about what we really want to do and not make excuses like "i'm too old" or "too busy" or "i have kids now" when the real reason is "i like beer and pork rinds" or "exercise makes me sweaty and sore" or "i can't miss this episode of 'survivor'", etc.

EXACTLY

[Kimmo]

You talk in such extremes. Having a beer or three and eating food doesn't make one a fat slob. For the most part its not going to effect your climbing performance, especially if you do cardiovascular activities like running, skiing, or biking in addition to climbing.

 

I guess its cool to respect Haston's focus but I think its cooler if you can crank hard and not be as anal.

 

i'm not sure what extremes you speak of; i think i'm simply saying that to climb at a certain level takes a lot of practice or training or whatever the hell you wanna call it....commitment i guess. trying hard blah blah blah. an di don't think i said having some beers and food makes one a fat slob, did i. this is sounding silly now.

 

shit, who cares what someone else does. if it inspires ya great, if it doesn't, great. a great thing about this life thingy is that we're pretty free to go for it in our own way, finding inspiration wherever we do. personally i'm quite interested in what someone who climbs 9a at 52 does. it's quite revealing (of a number of things!) to see the level of commitment.

[Choada_Boy]

Grid Bolting in America is a myth.

 

Really? There's quite a few crags es in your own backyard you should take a look at. And pretty much any route put up by Leland Windham.

 

Which means that "Brown Eye Rodeo Addiction", next to Condorphomine Addiction, has to be the best named climb of all time.

[Pete_H]

shit, who cares what someone else does. if it inspires ya great, if it doesn't, great.

 

That's cool. But I still think Haston (or was it Moon?) should show more respect for the long and happy history that beer and climbing have together.

[stevetimetravlr]

hey Joseph, I've always been of the atitude that if you're going to drink martinis you might as well throw away the glass, olive,rope, gear,and lime twist and drink it straight out of the bottle solo climbing.

[Sol]

shit, who cares what someone else does. if it inspires ya great, if it doesn't, great.

 

That's cool. But I still think Haston (or was it Moon?) should show more respect for the long and happy history that beer and climbing have together.

 

I must admit, last night I trained hard while drinking beer. It was fun.

[stevetimetravlr]

Funnest climbing beer drinking spot for me is UW climbing rock on a warm summer evening. Gettin a workout and doing some gravel splatdowns with your buddies while having a cold one.